Cost of living comparison

compared to

Bamako vs. Ulaanbaatar Cost of Living Summary

Bamako is 24.8% cheaper than Ulaanbaatar.

Restaurants
pay 41.6% more in Bamako
Groceries
pay 38.6% more in Bamako
Transportation
pay 2.8% less in Bamako
Housing
pay 62.0% less in Bamako
Entertainment and Sports
pay 9.3% less in Bamako

The cost of restaurants and groceries in Bamako are more expensive than in Ulaanbaatar. Expenses including housing, entertainment and sports, and transportation are lower in Bamako.

Bamako vs. Ulaanbaatar Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Bamako instead of Ulaanbaatar, you would:

pay 41.6% more for restaurants

 
Ulaanbaatar
Bamako
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $5.56
MNT20,000.00
$8.50
F CFA5,002
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$5.56
MNT20,000.00
$8.18
F CFA4,815
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.86
MNT3,083.33
$0.93
F CFA544

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pay 38.6% more for groceries

 
Ulaanbaatar
Bamako
Bread
1 loaf
$1.00
MNT3,588.33
$3.84
F CFA2,258
Local cheese (8 oz) $6.18
MNT22,248.75
$8.91
F CFA5,243
Milk (1 gallon) $5.49
MNT19,758.34
$7.22
F CFA4,248

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pay 2.8% less for transportation

 
Ulaanbaatar
Bamako
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.32
MNT15,549.41
$4.20
F CFA2,472
Monthly public transit pass $16.67
MNT60,000.00
??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $26,896.36
MNT97M
??

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pay 62.0% less for housing

 
Ulaanbaatar
Bamako
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$13.63
MNT49,062.50
$65.00
F CFA38,252
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $569.30
MNT2M
$175.00
F CFA103K
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $444.50
MNT2M
$80.00
F CFA47,079

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pay (unknown) more for childcare

 
Ulaanbaatar
Bamako
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $817.79
MNT3M
??
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $8,262.71
MNT30M
??

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pay 9.3% less for entertainment and sports

 
Ulaanbaatar
Bamako
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $2.36
MNT8,500.00
$2.39
F CFA1,404
Cappuccino in mid-range area $2.42
MNT8,692.31
$1.67
F CFA982
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$1.68
MNT6,044.89
??

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pay (unknown) more for clothing

 
Ulaanbaatar
Bamako
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$81.73
MNT294K
??
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$45.38
MNT163K
??
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$102.93
MNT370K
??

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this

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